I Never Meant Goodbye
by hermione169242
Summary: What happens when a familar face returns? Bad summary, I know. Give it a chance. R  R, please.


**My first attempt at a BMW story.  
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own any of this.  
Summary: When a familar face returns, what will happen.  
Rating: K.  
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**I Never Meant Goodbye. **

The heavy sounds of scrambled words soon dissipated as the twenty-five year old figure finally made his way to the stage. A platform merely a few inches off the ground had become a beacon of hope for all those in the café. Dozens of eyes stared upon the figure as he let his hand rest against the microphone. The static shock resounded painfully, but no one reacted as if it was expected. The figure seemed rather confident standing up there on the stage, which was a rather large reverse from years ago when the mere thought of reading his poetry out loud scared him.

"This one is called "On Top of the World"." Shawn Hunter began speaking. Words reverberated through the deafening silent café which the very man speaking now owned. His soft tone only embraced every single individual in that room. From where he stood, he could see them lean into the comfort of arm chairs and couches that created the lounge. While there were some familiar faces and many new ones, they still felt like his family. "You don't know it…" He slowly began. Dark eyes snapped shut as he began relaying the very poem he wrote in the beginning years of college for a single person. He had memorized every word to the point of being able to just say it from memory. In doing so, he could practically see that chocolate brown skin of that beauty who stole his heart so many years ago. The one who taught him how to be himself and never once fear that he could be loved.

As the very last words were executed, Shawn opened his eyes and embraced the surroundings. Momentarily, he forgot where he was. The assumption that he would be in the midst of his very lovely, furnished apartment was foiled when he saw those perplexed faces gazing up at him. A few lingering seconds later, they began applauding as had become custom in that café on those once-a-week nights when poetry readings were held. "Thank you." He stepped down from the platform and began walking back towards the corner by the bar where he could see his two best friends sitting still, beaming with a certain sense of pride within them.

Topanga simply gleamed as she held onto a coffee cup in both her hands while Cory on the other hand, just grinned like an idiot. The one man who believed that everyone had a soul mate. The man who believed he had met his when he was two. The funniest thing of all was that he married that very girl so many years later. As the stage took on another confident reader, the crowd returned the attention in the center.

"You still have that?" A voice spoke out, barely above a whisper. However, it was easily heard by at least Shawn.

The instant he heard that voice, he felt his entire body grow rigid. In that stool he now sat in, he slowly turned to the side to find himself staring at the very image that had plagued his mind each time he read that poem. His throat closed up and he felt his heart began racing a million miles per hour, leaving him breathless for a longest moment. Eyes danced upon her figure as though double checking that she was real in every sense of the word. There she stood. Not a day older by sight, but it was clear she was a year older in mind. It was only assumed that she had returned from her Europe trip with her father. "An-" He barely grew able to whisper out the words, eyes widened. His entire body grew numb in reaction to what he was seeing, which only seemed to push him over the edge.

It was then that the beauty before him actually allowed herself to smile, if only for a second. Simply to keep her hands busy, she continued clutching at the navy blue leather jacket in her arms. Everyone else seemed to be a simple illusion of the mind and never once did her eyes waver away from that man she loved for so many years. "Hey, Shawn." She finally responded as she took steps closer to him, stopping only inches away from him as if eager to make the whisper to not disturb those reading.

"Angela, y-you're here." Shawn whispered out. And like they had not shared those many months apart, he leaned forward. Arms wrapped around her petite frame. For a small moment, he feared her to resist. But, when her arms embraced him in return, he let out a sigh of relief he hoped she hadn't heard.

When they parted, neither seemed able to say anything else. Not that it would have mattered, simply because Topanga had seemed to realize something was wrong and had decided to turn around. The squeal of her happiness thundered out, thankfully not drowning out the speaker, Angela returned with a grin to that best friend of hers and it seemed like they had spent no time apart-probably all those conversations they had over the phone.

It amazed Shawn how they reacted. Cory finally caught on and joined the mayhem while Shawn simply was forced to stand in the background, contemplating the very mind boggling notion that Angela-his Angela-was back. And here, of all places. Like she had tracked them all down upon her return.

"We should all go out tonight! Celebrate and what not." Like always, Cory seemed to have a plan beyond his control. The second he relayed those words, he snapped his attention towards Shawn before widening his eyes for a second. His best friend continued looking as though he had been hit by a car.

"That sounds great." Angela responded rather excitedly, shooting one meaningful glance at Shawn before quickly averting eyes back towards Topanga with a smile on her face as though she were the real reason the taller woman had returned. "I'll meet you there at six?" The second Topanga had suggested a place, Angela managed to agree.

And the first thought in Shawn's mind was 'how did she know where that was?' when she had supposedly just returned.

"Shawn?"

"What? Sorry." He cleared his throat and shook his head a little, eyes back on the trio. "Six, yeah. That sounds great." It was foolish of him to try and hide that sort of smile that was building up-as if this had been a dream. The part that scared him was that it was reality.

Shawn paced back and forth in his apartment, hands running through his hair. He had, in fact, changed into dark blue jeans and a seemingly nice button down shirt. But, the part that made him more nervous was that he felt like he was on his first date.

"What are you so nervous about, Shawn?"

"It's Angela. She's back. What if she-and then, what if-?" He stuttered a little as he stopped pacing. His eyes stared at his two best friends settled on his couch.

Topanga simply grinned as though expecting such a reaction from him. "It'll be fine, Shawn. She wouldn't have found you if she didn't want to see you." Pointing out the very fact that had been plaguing Shawn's mind, Topanga had seemed to find that ground rule.

"Let's go." Cory suggested lightly. Standing up, he began walking towards the door and swung it open.

Shawn simply followed, Topanga behind him. A gentle hand rest on his shoulder in the process as though she would willingly become a guide through the night.

In about twenty minutes, the four of them had somehow managed to get a table in a rather private corner. The conversation seemed light; mostly between Topanga and Angela while Cory piped in on occasion. Shawn simply joined when conversation called for his opinion and otherwise, remained simply in tune with his food.

Soon enough, it had become rather normal as if the four of them had never once shared such a long time apart. Laughter erupted at random times and they had all become so connected with one another, it was like old times.

However, Cory and Topanga had become wildly distracted by something or the other, leaving Shawn and Angela in a rather seemingly alone situation. The two exchanged glances for a second before averting eyes as if nervous.

"You are glad I'm back, right?" Angela whispered lightly, staring at her plate.

Shawn, completely taken aback by her question, snapped his attention onto her. "Of course I am." He exclaimed rather loudly. After taking a moment to lower his voice, he took a deep breath. "I've missed you like crazy." He added after a moment of ignoring the thudding of his heart at the mere prospect of having this conversation.

That stunning smile that decorated her features only left Shawn's heart fluttering as it had in the past. "I never meant goodbye, Shawn." She whispered a little, leaning a little closer to him to keep their conversation a secret.

Carefully, Shawn's hand slide under the table and reached for her own. Fingers wrapped around her own, entwined so delicately that it seemed as if they were still such a perfect fit. "Neither did I."

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**Yeah, it's a one-shot.**  
**The idea kinda just popped into my head and I ran with it.**  
**Let me know what you think.**  
**R||R please.  
I know it's a little rushed towards the end, but I didn't want to droan on and on.**


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